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Macon's Change in Anne Tyler's The Accidental Tourist

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Macon's Change in Anne Tyler's The Accidental Tourist

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler at first glance depicts the struggle between two people to find happiness together, but in actuality it shows the struggles a man faces with himself to find happiness in his own life. Tyler presents a character, Macon Leary, satisfied with just going through life unchanged. Eliminating all the luxuries of life Macon feels he will find happiness by going through a scheduled routine everyday.

Struggling to accomplish anything on his own, Macon returns to his childhood home to further simplify his life. Hoping to find comfort with his siblings, Macon enters into their life of order and isolation from the …show more content…

(Updike 107) and sleeping in a ?giant sort of envelope? (Updike 107) to keep himself from having to make his bed. This simplistic lifestyle still can?t bring Macon the happiness he so desires. As a result, he turns to the only people he knows who are just like him so that maybe he can fit in once more.

Macon, still wanting to follow a system , moves back to his childhood home to live with his brothers and sister. Still searching for happiness, Macon further isolates himself and in turn slips further into his life of loneliness and self-absorption. Rose, Macon?s sister, has her kitchen ?so completely alphabetized, you?d find the allspice next to the ant poison? (Updike 107). After supper all four gather around the table and play a game of ?Vaccination?, which they made up as kids, so complicated that no one from the outside could learn the rules. Still feeling connections to the outside world, they then decide to go without answering the phone. The logic behind the means is that if someone needs them they can stop by or call the neighbors if it is important enough.

Living at home with his brothers and sisters, Macon?s dog, Edward, is ultimately what brings him into contact with the outside world. The vicious nature of Edward forces Macon to contact a dog trainer to try to tame him. This is when the ?brassy Muriel? (Wiehe 96) enters into Macon?s life. Muriel tames Edward and

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